Several decades have passed since the discovery of Hox genes in the fruit fly Drosophila
melanogaster. Their unique ability to regulate morphologies along the anteroposterior (AP) …

How animals establish and pattern the primary body axis is one of the most fundamental
problems in biology. Data from diverse deuterostomes (frog, fish, mouse, and amphioxus) …

Neuraxial patterning is a continuous process that extends over a protracted period of
development. During gastrulation a crude anteroposterior pattern, detectable by molecular …

The basic vertebrate body plan of the zebrafish embryo is established in the first 10 hours of
development. This period is characterized by the formation of the anterior-posterior and …

Wnt genes are important regulators of embryogenesis and cell differentiation in vertebrates
and insects. New data revealed by comparative genomics have now shown that members of …

The liver and pancreas are specified from the foregut endoderm through an interaction with
the adjacent mesoderm. However, the earlier molecular mechanisms that establish the …

Hox and Cdx transcription factors regulate embryonic positional identities. Cdx mutant mice
display posterior body truncations of the axial skeleton, neuraxis, and caudal urorectal …

Kidney function depends on the nephron, which comprises a blood filter, a tubule that is
subdivided into functionally distinct segments, and a collecting duct. How these regions …

The endoderm gives rise to the lining of the esophagus, stomach and intestines, as well as
associated organs. To generate a functional intestine, a series of highly orchestrated …

The Wnt pathway is a major embryonic signaling pathway that controls cell proliferation, cell
fate, and body-axis determination in vertebrate embryos. Soon after egg fertilization, Wnt …